Bad as Me

Alternative Press - 4 stars out of 5 -- "BAD AS ME works as Waits' 'greatest methods collection, encapsulating familiar m.o.'s as fractured grooves, rough-hewn, smoky yearning, dive-bar juke-joint shuffles, backstreet swagger and existentialist-loser paeans." Spin - "BAD AS ME burns at fuse speed, beginning with 'Chicago,' which sounds like it starts in the middle..." Rolling Stone - 4 stars out of 5 -- "At its heart are electric guitars. Marc Ribot's jagged, Cuban-tinged riffs have helped define Waits' sound since the 1980s." Entertainment Weekly - "One thing you cant' fake: Wait's personal universe, full of carnies, dust, tears, whiskey, and hope. And yes, a whole lot of growling." -- Grade: A- Uncut - "BAD AS ME is the sound of a supremely confident artist convening a raucous celebration of his own myth, and is multifariously marvelous." Record Collector - 4 stars out of 5 -- "BAD AS ME is shot through with rockabilly verve; 'Get Lost' bursts with youthful abandon, as if releasing the pent-up urges of a generation of 50s teens..." The Wire - "The love songs are chastened, the anger is tar-black but contained, the verbal play not done for show but intimate, a gift to another....BAD AS ME might be his best ever." Rolling Stone - Ranked #23 in Rolling Stone's '50 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "Tom Waits sings in a heartbreaking growl on this vocally dynamic, emotionally direct album, one of his best." Uncut - Ranked #13 in Uncut's '50 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "Exuberant, tender, truly idiosyncratic, Wait's first album of new songs in seven years was a stunner." Magnet - Ranked #2 in Magnet's '20 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "Waits is a hands-on technician; he rips the tires off the car and burns the rubber down." Magnet - "BAD AS ME sounds like a welcome echo of RAIN DOGS' spellbinding urban magic realism." Mojo - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t's a kick to hear him serving the needs of his songs without dressing them up in identical work clothes....BAD AS ME is alive with some of his greatest yet."

Bad as Me, Tom Waits' first studio album of all new music in seven years, features a stellar cast of musicians, and co-production and songwriting from Kathleen Brennan. While the trademarks of Waits' 21st century music are showcased in tracks such as "Chicago" and "Hell Broke Luce," he also nods back to his very beginnings in ballads such as "Last Leaf" and the barroom chorale "New Year's Eve." "Raised Right Men" is a modern take on Waits' blues clatter, while "Satisfied" employs his take on gospel. Three packages are available: the standard CD digipack, a deluxe edition with a hardbound a 40-page booklet and three bonus cuts, and a 180-gram LP.|

〈しょせん俺もお前もワルなのさ〉と呟かれているような題名も渋い、7年ぶりの新作。キース・リチャーズやレッチリのフリーが参加し、前作で封印していたピアノも復活……と話題に事欠かないが、ウェイツの歌は変わらず路地裏めいたわが道を歩んでいる。猥雑なロック・チューンも魅力だが、それ以上にバラードが出色。紫煙立ち込める午前2時の感傷を、塩辛いリリシズムで謳い上げられるのは、このワルだけだ。
bounce (C)北爪啓之